1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new or improved hand protection system for use by operatives involved in de-mining operations where they are required to locate, identify and remove anti-personnel mines which may be planted in a ground surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Military personnel who are involved in de-mining operations are normally provided with comprehensive protection gear including leggings, abdomen and chest protectors and helmets formed of ballistic blast resistant materials. Such protective clothing is available from a number of sources, and is illustrated in for example U.S. Pat. No. DES 403,487, U.S. Pat. No. DES 397,519, U.S. Pat. No. DES 417,756, U.S. Pat. No. DES 403,487 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,747, U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,719 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,447 all assigned to the assignee of the subject application, and the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The equipment described and shown in the above referred to patents provides protection against the effects of exploding anti-personnel mines, but is not inexpensive. On the other hand as a result of various conflicts and insurrections, vast numbers of anti-personnel mines have been planted in many countries, particularly countries of the third world where they provide a continuing menace to the lives and safety of both inhabitants and livestock.
Although International agreements have been signed in recent years by many countries forswearing the use of land mines, this does not resolve the problem posed by the millions of land mines that have been widely deployed in many countries and that remain in place.
In terms of the total damage inflicted, anti-personnel mines pose the most serious problem, both because of their vast numbers, and because of the fact that they are easily triggered by an adult, child or domestic animal, often with devastating consequences resulting in death or maiming or loss of limbs.
Mine clearance or de-mining is a dangerous occupation even when performed by well trained and well equipped operatives. However the danger becomes extreme when the work is carried out by untrained or ill equipped individuals. Nevertheless in many third world countries the imperative of performing mine clearance to regain use of mined land can sometimes override safety concerns, so that de-mining operations will frequently be carried out by operatives who do not have adequate protective gear.
Once the approximate location of an anti-personnel buried in the ground has been identified and marked, it then becomes necessary for an operative to go to the marked location, crouch down, and using careful movements of hands and of probing tools uncover the mine so that it can be identified and either removed or safely exploded. The operations required in this are delicate and it is all too easy for a mine to be inadvertently detonated. In such circumstances, the fingers and hands of the operative doing the work are most likely to suffer damage since they are closest to the detonating mine.